Woke up this early morning to the sound of thunder and rain. Aaaaahhhh.
Waited for a passing shower, so Jack and I got to the trailhead pretty late, where we enjoyed cool air, wet foliage, interesting wildlife activity, and walking in sweet, sweet mud.
The rain caused change. The atmosphere had completely change—damp, fragrant, different. Saw a living snail among the empty shells. And encountered an amazing fly hatch—wispy-winged flies rising like smoke, driving the little birds to distraction. Watched a bunting feed flies to a young one. Watched gnatcatchers catch ’em. Watched the flies themselves float through the air like some kind of earthly daylight constellation.
Another thing that happened involved the resident Cooper’s Hawks. While ascending the leafy gully, I heard the call of a young bird (possibly the only young bird, as I can’t remember hearing more than one at a time), then the ki-ki-ki-ki-ki! of an adult. We hurried up to a place where I could scan the hillsided. Just as I turned to look around, the adult took flight again and landed on a branch not far above us. Slowly, I lifted my camera—and the hawk too wing again. So I had to grab a photo of it crouching, pretty well camouflaged, in a tree.
More rain possible tonight. We shall see.
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 7:30 a.m. (8:30 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Lazuli Bunting
2. House Finch*
3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
4. Black-chinned Hummingbird
5. Spotted Towhee (v)
6. Mourning Dove*
7. Black-billed Magpie*
8. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
9. Barn Swallow
10. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
11. Black-capped Chickadee**
12. Cooper’s Hawk
13. Golden Eagle
Elsewhere
14. California Quail
15. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
16. Red-tailed Hawk
17. Eurasian Collared-dove
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: barn swallow, black-blled magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-chinned hummingbird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, broad-tailed hummingbird, California quail, Cooper’s awk, Eurasian collared dove, golden eagle, house finch, lazuli bunting, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, red-tailed hawk, spotted towhee, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
